I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to winch assemblies, and more particularly to a winch assemblies which are selectively attachable and detachable to various substrates.
II. Discussion
The winch assemblies described herein are particularly useful for loading or moving heavy or excessively large objects, including but not limited to, recreational vehicles such as motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and bicycles. Heretofore, devices for loading or moving heavy or excessively large objects tended to be unnecessarily bulky. Further, such winch-like assemblies tended to be permanently attached to the supporting surface. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,788 which issued Jun. 23, 1981 to Sutton discloses a vehicle mounting carriage and elevating apparatus which includes a large support frame secured to a vehicle. The apparatus includes a link frame pivotally secured to a support frame and a post frame which is pivotally secured to the vehicle itself. An actuation apparatus is secured between the support frame and the carriage which is adapted to move the carriage from a lower inclined position extending rearwardly of the vehicle to a substantially horizontal elevated position. While apparently effective, a considerable amount of time and energy can be expended simply attaching and detaching the carriage and elevating apparatus to and from the truck bed. Further, once attached a large number of manipulations of the apparatus are required to lift the recreational vehicle into and out of the truck bed.
Yet another problem with many winch assemblies is that they are merely intended for assisting in drawing an entire supporting device which includes a previously loaded object onto the support surface rather than directly drawing the object onto the support surface. U.S. Pat. No. 4,212,580 which issued Jul. 15, 1980 to Fluck discloses such a device including a supporting cradle for withdrawing and launching a boat into and from a body of water. The winch assembly of the boat launching apparatus is directly mounted to the frame of a truck bed adjacent the rear wall of the truck bed cab. The winch is activated to first pull the boat onto the supporting cradle and thereafter pull the supporting cradle with the boat mounted thereon, into the truck bed.
Still other winch assemblies which are used in association with pickup truck beds have the disadvantage of being permanently attached to the truck bed. Often this presents problems in that the entire truck bed may subsequently be needed for purposes other than transporting recreational vehicles.
In contrast to many of the known apparatuses an object of the present invention is to provide selectively attachable and detachable winch assemblies which can be used to load and/or move various objects onto and over the desired surface. For example, the winch assemblies are particularly useful for loading and/or moving recreational vehicles including but not limited to, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and bicycles onto or off from a truck bed without requiring additional supporting apparatuses to carry out the loading and unloading step.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide at least one winch assembly which extends above the supporting surface to generate sufficient leverage for loading and unloading various objects and which provides clearance for the drawing cable, strap or chain.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide at least one winch assembly which extends above the supporting substrate and is positioned such that the handle of the winch can be free cranked without interference.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide at least one winch assembly which is selectively positionable at various points relative to the supporting surface.
To achieve the foregoing objects a first winch assembly embodiment according to the teachings of the present invention includes a bracket having a base plate which is positioned adjacent the supporting substrate and a stanchion extending from the base plate including a supporting plate for hosting the winch. Extending between the base plate and the stanchion is a gusset for supporting the stanchion which preferably extends from the base plate at an oblique angle sufficiently above the support surface to provide clearance for the drawing cable. To attach the base plate to the supporting substrate a backing plate is provided which is permanently mounted to the under surface of the supporting substrate. Additionally, a spacer may be provided between the base plate and a portion of the supporting substrate to insure sufficient spacing of the winch assembly.
Under another winch assembly embodiment according to the teachings of the present invention the winch assembly includes a bracket having an L-shaped base plate which is positioned on the supporting substrate. The base plate includes a pair of upwardly extending legs having incurved flanges which provide a channel. The winch is integrally attached to a guide plate which is secured within the channel. By adjusting the position of the guide plate within the channel the winch can be positioned at various locations relative to the supporting substrate.